Unexpected Encounter
A/N – Sorry again about the delay – I've been away sightseeing! But I'll try to get a bit more written this week, as I'm beginning to think about the next story and so need to get this finished
DISCLAIMER – I have no rights over the Thunderbird characters.
Chapter Nine – England
Thunderbird 1 made short work of the distance to England – it could circumnavigate the world in a couple of hours, so to travel halfway across it took next to no time. John was piloting for a change as Scott was still not flight worthy after the mild concussion he'd sustained and besides, it was good for John to get used to '1 as he'd be flying it while Scott was away. The ride was not the smoothest either of them could wish for, but they made it to Penny's without too many issues and neither Scott, nor the group watching from the driveway, would dream of mentioning that the landing on the specially designed truck was bumpier than usual.
Scott and John climbed down to meet their welcoming committee – both Penelope and Tin-Tin were there wearing pretty summer dresses, as was Parker in his usual suit. As the girls greeted the Tracy boys warmly, Parker hopped into the truck and reversed both it and Thunderbird 1 into a barn that Penelope had built specifically for the task. Next to it stood a larger barn, ostensibly a hay shed, where Thunderbird 2 was deposited every time Virgil brought her over. It allowed the Tracy Island inhabitants to visit quickly whilst remaining on call in case of emergency.
Both Tin-Tin and Penelope were shocked by Scott's appearance. Although he now physically felt much better, the bruises on his face had faded to an ugly yellow, and his normally chiselled features were masked by the swelling that hadn't quite gone down. Tin-Tin Fussed around him while Penelope held his hand gently.
"Are you quite well, my dear? You look even worse than you did on camera."
"Gee thanks Penny, you sure know how to flatter a man. I'm fine, much better now than I was, just in need of some R&R!"
John laughed at his older brother, "Maybe I should get injured, if this is the attention we can expect when we pick up a few bruises in the line of duty!"
"You may laugh, but Scott was hurt badly," Tin-Tin replied seriously. "I don't think any of you should be aiming to get injured, it happens too often without."
"Very true my dear," Penelope chipped in, finally releasing Scott's hand much to his relief. "Now, why don't we all move into the garden where I've asked Parker to bring us some tea?"
"Sounds great," Scott and John both chimed, and they followed the lady as she led them through her gigantic house to the back garden, where a small table with four chairs had been set up on a small lawn near some climbing roses. The boys sat down happily, looking around at their environment.
"It sure is swell of you to invite us both for a few days, Penny. Your home is so pretty, it belongs in one Virgil's paintings." As he spoke John leaned back to take in the vista. In front of them lawns spread out, intertwined with small paths that crisscrossed in an apparently arbitrary manner, but which were likely to have been meticulously planned. At the edge of the lawns, trees rose up to frame the garden, with the South Downs rising behind them again to add wildness to the view. To the side of the house that they were currently sitting, formal gardens spread before giving way to a vegetable garden for the kitchens, whereas to the other there was a tennis court laid out, with something that looked suspiciously like a swimming pool on the far side.
"Why thank you, John. I am rather proud of it, and having so many spare rooms makes it so convenient to host visitors."
At that moment Parker arrived with the tea, and Penelope busied herself with pouring tea for all her guests, while John and Scott smirked at each other. They both had been for tea with Penny often enough to know that tea making was a ritualised, formal affair with strict adherence to specific social codes when she was in charge. To accompany tea a picture-perfect sponge cake was also brought out and delicately sliced by the lady of the house before being distributed on small china plates that matched the tea set.
All conversation was halted while all four members of the tea party sat eating their cake whilst sipping slowly at the tea. Eventually Scott broke the silence.
"And you tell me it is always raining here Penny! I don't believe a word of it, what beautiful weather this is."
"We have been very lucky in the weather recently – I think Tin-Tin must have brought some of your tropical sunshine with her! I really don't think it has rained for more than a few hours while she has been here, although I think that perhaps the gardeners are waiting for her to leave so they can stop watering all the plants on a daily basis. Not to mention how relieved I'll be when they stop spending every day trying to catch a glimpse of her and return to work!"
Tin-Tin blushed before asking Scott how his brothers were, not mentioning Alan specifically but everyone present was aware who she was referring to.
"They're all great, Tin-Tin. Virgil was a bit put out that he couldn't come and sample Penny's hospitality himself but he seems to have gotten over it. Alan was in good spirits when he went up to '5." Then, remembering the conversation he had with John regarding Alan's letter writing pastimes on the space station couldn't resist adding "If you're lucky he may write you a letter while he's up there."
Tin-Tin looked confused at this, where John snorted on a mouthful of tea causing him to choke loudly. Getting up to pat him on the back, Scott tried hard not to dissolve into laughter at the expression on his brother's face.
"I can see that we aren't going to get much sense out of them," Penny commented, turning to Tin-Tin. "May I suggest we retire for a while, to let them unpack and settle down a bit before we sit down for dinner? I believe cook is going to create a beef wellington, to try to educate our American visitors about British cuisine." She shot a glare at the Tracy boys, who were doing their best to wear angelic expressions. "Honestly, I'd expect this kind of behaviour from Gordon or Alan, but you two normally have more sense!" Her smile and tone belied the words; she was pleased to see how relaxed they were. Scott and John didn't get to spend a lot of time together and it was easy to forget what good friends they were. She also hadn't seen Scott in such a playful mood before, which pleased her. She hoped that an enjoyable visit to the Creighton manor this time may persuade him to return more frequently in the future.
-x-x-
Dinner gave them all an opportunity to catch up on each others news, and the main topic of conversation was the rescue at the mine that had nearly had such tragic consequences. Scott hadn't been asked about his ordeal before as his father had warned his brothers not to ask him about it before he was ready and Scott hadn't brought it up himself. So he was slightly unprepared when Penelope said directly:
"How did you manage to get out of the mines, Scott? I think Brains mentioned that it was statistically nearly impossible for you to have found your way to a place where your brothers could find you."
Scott slowly ate a mouthful of an apple pie that had appeared at dessert, while he tried to think of how to answer the question without actually lying to his friends. He knew he couldn't tell them the truth, as it would raise more questions than it answered. "I don't really know, Penny. I knew that if I didn't try to find a way out then there was no hope for me, and that kept me going somehow." He paused to take another piece of pie, noticing as he did that he had everyone's rapt attention. "I don't know how I found my way out, but somehow the choices I made were the right ones."
"I think an angel must have been watching over you." Tin-Tin was more spiritual than the other Tracy Island residents, part of her upbringing with Kyrano, and firmly believed that some guardian force watched over the Tracy boys. It was her way of coping with the fact that the people she cared about most were often in grave danger, and gave her some solace when they were away on missions.
Scott spluttered on the mouthful of pie he was eating. "An Angel. Yes, that must be it Tin-Tin, I was guided by an Angel."
John was puzzled by the answer – he knew Scott was a confirmed sceptic on most of the spirituality Tin-Tin quoted around the Island, but figured that a near death experience could change anyone's mind. Penelope was just relieved he was unhurt, and very thankful that he had been found however he may have got there.
The conversation turned then to their plans for the next few days, and Penelope suggested several activities they could do to make the most of the sunny weather. Soon they had arranged to picnic in some of the woods that lay at the back of the manor, and they were just finalising details when Penelope realised that her American visitors were flagging – although Thunderbird 1 could take them around the world very quickly, it couldn't eradicate the jetlag they felt when doing it. She called an end to their discussions and packed her guests off to bed, before sitting down and listening to some music in the library until she was ready to retire.
-x-x-
The only thing predictable about British weather is its unpredictability, and the next morning the party awoke to the drum of raindrops on the manor roof. John woke early, and after making a couple of cups of coffee went in search of his older brother. He found him standing in the upstairs hall, staring out the windows gloomily watching the grey clouds that covered the countryside.
"I managed to find some proper coffee hiding in a cupboard in the kitchen, I thought you might appreciate something a bit stronger than Penny's morning cup of Earl Grey."
Scott took the mug and continued to stare out the window. "I guess this is the rain England is famous for. I guess we won't be picnicking today."
"Well it's your fault for mentioning it last night, and even you can't control the weather! Come on, let's go see what back-up plan Penny has in store for us." The brothers found the girls on one of the many sitting rooms around the house, demurely drinking tea while making alternative plans for the day. When Penelope saw the Tracy's lurking in the entrance she flashed them a beaming smile.
"Good morning! Are you feeling more alive today?"
"Much better thanks Penny," and Scott slipped into one of the free chairs facing the girls. John took the other, declining a cup of tea before taking a loud slurp of his coffee.
Penny looked disapprovingly at her guests. "I see you've found the tar that Parker keeps hidden away in the kitchen. It really isn't very good for you, you know. You had much better drink a civilized cup of tea."
"Ah but Penny, we're American savages," Scott grinned back. "You can take an American from their country, but you can't take their coffee." And with that he took a large draft from his mug before leaning back with a contented smile on his face. "Ah, sweet caffeine," John mimicked, and the two Americans lounged back in their chairs, in sharp contrast to the neat and tidy women.
Choosing to ignore their antics, Penelope adopted her businesslike voice. "Obviously, rain has 'stopped play' today, to use a tennis analogy. However, Tin-Tin and I have come up with a new plan that isn't quite as satisfactory as the original, but which will help to soften the blow." Seeing she now had the attention of both boys, who had sat up in the chairs to lean forward and listened, she grinned mischievously. "I propose that we have an indoor picnic!"
And so they did. Sitting on a blanket in the large conservatory that Penelope usually used as a garden room, the group had a picnic in every way resembling the planned version except for the location. Parker, popping in once with some paperwork that Penelope needed to sign, and managing to resist all attempts to cajole him into joining the party, didn't quite know what to make of it all.
"H'I do not know h'what her Ladyship is doing, sitting h'on the ground like that!"
The next couple of days passed in similar fashion, Penelope continued to invent fun pastimes regardless of the weather, and the Tracy boys were determined to enjoy themselves. Tin-Tin had a ball, she'd enjoyed staying with Penny before but had found it all slightly formal, but she now saw with joy how the effect of the two eldest siblings helped the hostess to loosen up and get involved more. Whether one had a greater effect than the other she wouldn't have dared to say, whatever she thought privately.
When the time came for Tin-Tin and John to head home the tone was slightly more forlorn, with the exception of Scott who did not seem to mind the separation much, in fact he appeared to be excited about it. This may have pleased Penny slightly, but it couldn't raise her spirits completely as she would miss Tin-Tin's company a lot. She also knew she had to spend a few days in London on business, and wasn't looking forward to it – she had several visits to make on behalf of Tracy Industries and while she was happy to work in this capacity for Jeff, she didn't take much pleasure from it.
Parker, Scott and Penelope stood together waving goodbye as Thunderbird 1 roared into life, the jet motors making short work of the launch. It spun in the air before roaring off towards home, very soon it had disappeared into the cloud and out of sight.
"He'd better look after my girl," Scott murmured, staring into the sky once the sound of the rocket engines had at last died away.
"You know he will," replied Penny, laying her hand on his arm. "Now, I have to leave almost immediately for London, I'm afraid. I can't persuade you to join me?"
"No thank you Penny, I'm content with taking your small car on a road trip for a few days."
"Are you sure you will be alright? I can lend you Parker and the Rolls, he knows most of the roads around here like the back of his hand, and he is an excellent tour guide."
"No, thank you." Scott said in some alarm, wanting no company in his travelling. "I just don't go with pink. The small convertible you've provided will be just fine. I'll have my watch too, if there is an emergency I can get in touch. You'll need Parker anyway in London."
"Well that's very true; I would miss Parker if he went with you. Very well Scott, I'll leave you to your plans, but don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything." With that Penelope stepped into the large pink Rolls Royce that Parker had brought out of the garage while they had been talking, winding down the window to call out to Scott again. "Goodbye Scott, I should be finished four days from now. If you change your mind, I've given you the address at which you can contact me. Farewell!"
The Rolls turned and wound its way along the long drive, and once it had passed out of the large wrought iron gates Scott headed into the garage himself, finding the small car that Penny had provided him with. He'd already stowed a suitcase in the boot, and now just stepped into the car before starting to wind his way down the driveway, following the route the Rolls had taken. He was vaguely aware that someone had shut the garage behind him and was now opening the large gates for him to pass through even though he didn't see anyone. Penelope's staff were skilled at being unobtrusive as they went about their daily chores.
Once Scott was a couple of miles clear of the manor, he pulled into a lay-by where he reached inside his jacket and pulled a small slip of paper out. He read through the address a couple of times, before putting it back and driving west.
